(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rear bumpers for agricultural vehicles, and more particularly to a retractible rear bumper for a cotton module transport. Applicant submits that a module transport manufacturer is one having ordinary skill in this art.
(2) Description of the Related Art
At the present time, seed cotton is harvested in the field and compacted into ricks or modules. A module is a compacted cohesive mass of about 20,000 pounds of seed cotton immediately after harvesting.
These modules are made in the field where the cotton is harvested. They are moved by cotton module transports or module transports to a cotton gin where the seed cotton is processed by separating the lint from the seed.
The module transport is a motorist vehicle having a tiltable specially constructed bed upon a standard truck frame. The tiltable bed has a series of chains thereon. The chains are driven from the same drive as the rear wheels of the truck so that as the truck bed is backed under the module, the chains operate to pull the module onto the truck bed. The bed of the truck is tiltable so that the chains will run very close to the ground, if not engaging the ground, when picking up the module.
Also, when the module is discharged, the bed is tilted so that the back end of the bed is at ground level or very near ground level. The truck wheels are moved to move the truck forward, and the chains are moved to discharge the module at the same rate the truck is moving forward to discharge the module upon the ground.
Rollers below and near the rear of the bed roll along the ground; and therefore, the chains at the rear of the truck are properly spaced above the ground for proper operation.
The bed is level when transporting the module from the field where it is grown to the cotton gin where it will be processed. Usually, the module transports move along public roads.
As the transport moves from the field to the cotton gin, often it must cross ditches to reach the road. Then, the transport must pass over railroad tracks or the like upon seldom used country roads where there is a considerable hump in the road. The bed extends for a considerable length between the rear end or tail of the bed and the rear wheels. Therefore, when traversing rough terrain and roads, the bed, although level on the truck, will drag or almost drag along the earth during normal transporting of the modules to the gin and also moving empty from the gin to a field to pick up modules. Also, since the chains operate at ground level or sometimes even drag into the ground at the time they are picking up or discharging the cotton, they have no covering or protection around them at the rear. The chains are exposed beneath the bed for three or four feet at the rear of the bed.